French actor Gérard Depardieu will face a criminal trial in October over the alleged sexual assaults in 2021 of two women on the set of a film, prosecutors announced Monday. The 75-year-old actor, who previously has denied any wrongdoing, was detained for questioning by police in Paris for several hours earlier Monday. The latest episode involving Depardieu came as French cinema is roiled by a #MeToo awakening following actor Judith Godrèche’s call for France’s film industry to “face the truth” on sexual violence and physical abuse.
